During the middle ages in Western Europe, there were many interactions in culture, economy, social status, and politics/governments.

By 1000 B.C. regional states had restored their order
  • They had become more organized and had ended their invasions.

  • Champagne in France held fairs that were used as marketplaces. Here, the Europeans compared and exchanged goods.

  • Italians established trading ports as well as commercial centers in the Black Sea and Mediterranean Sea
      • Dealt with Muslims merchants who were involved in trade in the Indian Ocean and trade over the land with India, as well as with Southeast Asia, and China


  • Hanseatic League was a place of multiple interactions
    • Well developed trade network in the North Sea and the Baltic Sea, took all of the commercial centers
    • rivers helped to link the peoples as well

  • Religion often united the peoples
    • Roman Catholocism united the peoples of Western Europe

  • When the Europeans explored and traded, they encountered ideas from the Byzantine Empire, as well as from other areas in the Byzantine empire

  • The Reconquista, when the Christians attempted to take Spain, promoted cultural interaction

  • The Norman warriors gave Sicily back to the Christians from Muslim hands

  • Normans invaded England in 1066

  • Muslims ruled most of the Iberian Peninsula

  • Increased populations helped to increase trade and travel

  • The growth of the agricultural economy promoted trade and interactions as well as the spread of culture

>>Jenny Voll & Lauren Smyle
Approved by:Brett Krumenacker and Shane Daggett
Approved by Victor Ebken